2011 US Open Golf: The 25 Greatest Single Round Performances Ever

2011 US Open Golf: The 25 Greatest Single Round Performances Ever

One, it's very generational. While this list includes US Open performances going as far back as 1913, I will always be biased to what I remember watching. Anyone will.

So because there have been so many great rounds, there really are no right or wrong answers. Compiling this list, I looked at great rounds that I excluded, or ranked low, and was amazed.

There really are no special provisions for this list. It's not necessarily the 25 lowest scores in US Open history. On that note, some of the rounds included weren't even the top round that that golfer carded on that given week.

Some rounds are included for more than just score. Maybe a golfer held off or caught legendary golfers, maybe a golfer was only a shot or two under par while the rest of the field was struggling to break 75.

Obviously, score is a factor. Some of these rounds came before the final round. Heck, some of these rounds weren't even carded by the eventual winner. It's an undeniable factor, just not the only one.

And on the note of having no wrong or right answers. I don't apologize for what rounds I included here or the order that I put them in.

By the same token, someone else could compile a list that looks entirely different and have nothing to apologize either. It's just what happens when we have more than 100 years of history to draw from.

A special thank you does go out to all of The Bleacher Report's golf writers who offered their suggestions.

25. Rives McBee: 64 in the Second Round, 1966 at the Olympic Club

Rives McBee is one of the only non-winners to make the list here. He finished T13 in 1966’s US Open, but his second round was stellar.

Actually, it was better than stellar; it was good enough for a share of US Open record.

Not much more can be said. McBee is one of the only non-champions listed here and is the only person listed that never won a major. His T13 was his best career major performance. His next best round that week was a 74, but this round was fantastic.

24. Vijay Singh: 63 in the Second Round, 2003 at Olympia Fields

In terms of scoring, this was one of the easier US Opens in history. Vijay Singh didn’t win it. Actually, at a T20 finish, he is the lowest finisher on the list.

But anytime someone equals a major scoring record, they belong on a list like this. Singh’s second-round 63 was aided by a back-nine 29, which also equaled a record.

Honorable mention goes to the week’s eventual champion, Jim Furyk, who carded two 67’s and a 66 on his way to a three-shot win.

Also worth mentioning was Tom Watson, who was then 53 years old. He shot an opening-round 65 and was the co-leader. His caddy, Bruce Edwards, had recently been diagnosed with incurable ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Nobody knew it at the time, but Edwards would pass away the following April.

Watson has certainly had a brilliant career. He had an even greater tournament at the British Open six years later. Watson didn’t contend this week, but the magic that he and Edwards provided was unforgettable.

21. Retief Goosen: 71 in the Final Round, 2004 at Shinnecock Hills

At one-over par, this round may not look great on paper, especially considering the clubs they were using in 2004. But golf tournaments aren’t played on paper, and that’s why this round is included.

The crowds were not against him, but they were raucous for Phil Mickelson. In typical Goosen fashion, he showed no emotion and matched Mickelson’s 71, winning the tournament by two shots.

The crowds alone aren’t what lands Goosen on this list. No, he needed only 24 putts to complete this round, that’s why he’s here.

I’ve never actually tried putting on a hockey rink, but I can’t imagine it would be much less difficult than the greens that these golfers faced.

Because the greens were dried out from the winds, the USGA decided to water them between groups. That stopped mid-round, and it should have hurt Goosen more than anyone, as he was in the final pairing.

Nobody told him that. He claimed his second US Open and made it clear that he was one of the era’s best players.

20. Billy Casper-1966/Lee Janzen-1998: 68's in the Final Round at Olympic Club

Perhaps these rounds are both more notable for who didn’t win than who did, but they both belong. These 68’s share a stage because while they happened more than 30 years apart, they happened on the same course and were eerily similar.

In 1966, Casper trailed Palmer by seven shots in the final round. In 1998, Janzen trailed Payne Stewart by the same margin.

The difference is that Janzen won the tournament outright, while Casper’s joy had to wait a day. Palmer led by two shots after nine, but Casper came back and shot a 69 to Palmer’s 73 to win the playoff.

In both cases, it was the second career US Open for the eventual winner.

18. Payne Stewart: 70 in the Final Round, 1999 at Pinehurst

Looking to redeem himself from the previous year’s disaster, Payne Stewart handed Phil Mickelson his first US Open runner-up finish.

He beat Mickelson by one stroke and Tiger Woods and Vijay Singh by two. At the time, Mickelson had no majors and Singh and Woods each had only one. Still, they were three of the best in the world.

Stewart sandwiched a birdie on the par-three 17th hole with a 25-foot par putt on 16, and a 15 foot-par putt on 18 that put the tournament on ice.

In doing so, he won the last major of his life. Of course, we didn’t know that then. What we did know was the he redeemed his previous year’s disappointment, making nearly the same putt that he had missed the year before.

16. Jack Nicklaus: 67 in the Final Round, 1967 at Baltusrol

While it’s hosted more US Opens than any course other than Oakmont, Baltusrol is not what you would call the most difficult US Open course. Still, a final-round 65 in is not easy to do, even for the best golfer in the history of the game.

Nicklaus was one of only four golfers to break 70 during the final-round. One of the others was Arnold Palmer, who shot a 69 on his way to a runner-up finish. That four-shot difference provided The Golden Bear the cushion that he would need.

Also, while three other people shot in the 60’s, Nicklaus was better than any of them. His full legacy hadn’t been established yet, but he was well on his way and by 1967, was clearly the world’s best golfer.

11. Gene Sarazen: 66 in the Final Round, 1932 at Fresh Meadow

At the time, Sarazen’s 66 was a US Open record. Naturally, since it came in the final round of the tournament, it also set a final round scoring record.

This was a stellar performance by the Squire. His final two rounds set a record for the back half of a US Open that stood until Nelson’s performance in 1983.

His final round 66 was the best final round in US Open history until 1960.

One other thing to note is Sarazen had previously served as the head pro at the host course of Fresh Meadow Country Club. Mix a golfer of Sarazen’s caliber with course knowledge, and perhaps a great performance was inevitable.

10. Fuzzy Zoeller: 67 in an 18-Hole Playoff, 1984 at Winged Foot

Fuzzy Zoeller and Greg Norman finished the 1984 US Open five shots clear of anyone else.

Norman sunk a 45-foot par putt on the last hole of regulation, which was answered by a more conventional par from Zoeller.

It’s interesting that after Norman made that putt, Zoeller jokingly waved a white towel in surrender. On the 18th green the next day, it was Norman that waived the white towel.

Zoeller shot a three-under 67 in the playoff. It was actually his second best round of the week, as he shot a 66 in the second-round. But the fact that the 67 came in a playoff against a golfer of Norman’s caliber makes up for the one-shot difference.

Norman was never close, as he trailed by five shots after nine holes and ended losing by eight.

This was one of the first spectacular failures that would follow Norman throughout his brilliant career.

The great playoff performance clinched Fuzzy’s second and final major championship, as well as his only National Championship.

9. Lee Trevino: 68 in an 18-Hole Playoff, 1971 at Merion

The story of Lee Trevino throwing a rubber snake at Jack Nicklaus before the 18-hole playoff began is not entirely accurate. Regardless of that, it did show Trevino as one of the game’s loosest players and biggest characters.

Still, when they teed off, he was all business.

Trevino took advantage of Nicklaus’ early missteps to open up a two-shot lead after three holes. Nicklaus would cut the lead throughout the day, but Trevino never surrendered the outright lead after the third hole.

It wasn’t that Nicklaus played bad, either. He shot a 71, which is only one-over par at Merion. One-over par has won plenty 18-hole playoffs convincingly. It just wasn’t good enough on this day as Trevino won his second US Open. He would go on to win the British Open that year, and three more majors in his career.

7. Jack Fleck: 69 in an 18-Hole Playoff, 1955 at Olympic Club

Ben Hogan didn’t win any majors after the 1953 British Open. Still, in 1955, he was the biggest name in golf. Jack Fleck was not exactly in second place.

The only cut he had made at a stroke-play major (The PGA Championship was match-play until 1958) came at the 1953 US Open, where he tied for 52nd place. For the record, his best performance in the PGA Championship was elimination in the round of 64.

On this day, the resumes didn’t matter, as Fleck pulled on of the biggest upsets in golf, or any sport’s history.

Fleck led by one on the final tee, but Hogan slipped, hit a bad drive, and made double-bogey. Fleck made a par for the three-shot victory.

A case could be made that Fleck’s final round 67 belongs here, but he wasn’t eye-to-eye with Hogan then. Truthfully, Fleck was hardly seen as a threat when she shot that 67.

Fleck won twice more on tour, which was actually one more than Hogan would win. Like Hogan, Fleck was done with majors, although he did win one on the Champions Tour (then the Senior Tour).

6. Francis Ouimet: 72 in an 18-Hole Playoff, 1913 at Brookline

Anyone who has seen The Greatest Game Ever Played is familiar with this story.

Playing with a 10-year old caddy, Francis Ouimet, who himself was caddy at Brookline went toe-to-toe with the two best golfers in the world and beat them.

If a person gets all of their information on this tournament from that movie, they know most of the story. What they do not know is that Ouimet beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray handily.

At 72, this is the worst 18-hole score on the list. But given the equipment they had in 1913, the challenge of Brookline, and the fact that he was a caddy against Vardon and Ray, the two best golfers in the world, makes this easily worthy of such a high spot.

Still not convinced? This is also the tournament that really made golf popular in America. Subsequent years would give us the likes of Gene Sarazen, Bobby Jones, and Walter Hagen.

Hagen was actually already a pro. In fact, he was tied for fourth in the 1913 US Open, but his first major didn’t come until the following year’s National Championship.

4. Tiger Woods: 71 in an 18-Hole Playoff, 2008 at Torrey Pines

Honorable mention goes to Rocco Mediate, who actually matched Woods stroke-for-stroke. Woods led by three after 10 holes, but Mediate took a lead after 15. He held that lead until 18, where Woods tied him.

Woods gets the nod for two reasons. One is that he won the subsequent sudden-death playoff. Two is that even though Woods is a much bigger name than Mediate, he had the additional challenge of playing all week on one good leg.

Woods hasn’t won another major since and really hasn’t been the same golfer since this tournament.

It’s still doubtful that this will be Tiger’s last career major. But if it is, he finished in spectacular fashion.

2. Ken Venturi: 70 in the Final Round, 1964 at Congressional

The story of this is actually that that he played two rounds in one day. The first of those two rounds was a 66.

This was the last time that the US Open finished with a 36-hole final day. Not only was Ken Venturi dehydrated, but he was given salt tablets and iced tea to help his dehydration, which are both bad for dehydration.

Not only was he advised to quit, he didn’t believe he could finish. Still he plugged through the 36-hole grind.

Also, he didn’t start that day with a big lead. He actually started the final 18 holes two shots behind Tommy Jacobs. Venturi finished that round four shots better than Jacobs.

Honorable mention goes to Jacobs, who built the 36-hole lead with a second round 64, which was then a record performance.

Another honorable mention goes to Hubert Green, who played the last four holes of the 1977 US Open after learning of a threat on his life. It doesn’t make the list because didn’t hear of the threat until after the 14th hole.

Still, he overcame a shaky drive to par the 15th hole, which is where the threat said his murder would occur. A birdie on 16 gave him a two-shot lead, which was his eventual margin of victory.